She could only sigh and presume,
That he was gone and must have been asleep in their room.
The woman was clearly being ignorant and silly,
Still oblivious to the fact that wherever she would be… would be where he would be.
– IAdoreYouCreates

Her Valiant Mate

I haven’t really been religiously following the show lately. Why you don’t see me doing episode reviews! I happened to watch today and I am glad I did. A beautiful episode! 

Sab kuch iske liye tere baad hai,
Sau baaton ki ek baat hai,
Ye na jaayega kabhi tujhe chhodke ye jaan le!

By now, Apurva Vartak Kanitkar should have at least this one thing clear that Shashank Kanitkar would show up and linger around every single time to make sure that the responsibilities that she herself has taken or have been handed over to her are successfully taken care of. Because her husband is incapable of standing the idea of someone calling his wife irresponsible.  

He may say whatever. He may do whatever. To get her disciplined but that’s his and solely his right. Someone else criticizing or shaming his wife is simply not allowed. 

Apurva – Mala boltil na. I don’t care.

Shashank – But I do. Koni tula kahi bolla tar mala traas hoto. 

Apurva – Mala bolnar aahet na te. Tuza kay problem aahe?

Shashank – Asa kasa? Bayko aahes tu mazi. Tula koni kahi bolla tar mala wait watata. Mala traas hoto. Mazya bayko la mi kahihi bolel… tichya changlya sathi pan lok kahi bolle tar te mala nahi chalnar. 

– EPISODE 117 

Something that I like about Shashank is that he has his priorities clear. He knows what he has to do. He knows what he wants to do. At times, situations distract him from those priorities but sooner or later… this way or that way… he ends up holding onto them before they completely slip out of his hold. 

Apurva had almost slipped out of the hold of his love in the previous track when she left the home after he called her a mistake. They spent days without each other but he acted… in the nick of time… did what he had to… to get her back in his arms. 

Even in the farmhouse track, he had deeply hurt both Apurva and Kukki but all that it took him was seeing that she was actually missing him and that was why Kukki made the plan to call him there to know that he shouldn’t have said what he did. 

Kukki had almost slipped out of the hold of his affection and so had Apurva but he acted… in the nick of time… did what he had to… to make sure that he earned Kukki’s forgiveness, thereby automatically earning Apurva’s forgiveness. 

Coming back to today’s episode, I loved Shashank’s monologue which again is something that he genuinely feels. It is what he has been saying from the beginning. He cares about his wife’s image in front of others and if given a chance, he would do everything in and out of his capacity to protect that image and when his wife does not give him a chance, he creates the chance. 

Apurva struggling to stay awake and all of the ways that she used to help herself stay awake was a funny scene. I like focussing on symbolism when it comes to festivals a lot. I believe, the customs, rituals and festivals offer a lot more to learn if you can look beyond the surface things. 

Akhand Jyot for me symbolizes discipline. The diya cannot live without you monitoring it. If you have decided to take its responsibility, you’ve to stay up for the whole night to make sure that it’s alive otherwise it will die. Resisting sleep is hard but you will do it anyhow because you have decided to protect the life of the diya. 

Similarly, if you decide to quit something that no longer serves you – suppose any kind of addiction – you will be tempted to slip back into it. Resisting would be hard just the way resisting sleep while taking care of the Akhand Jyot is hard but you’ve to stick to it and if you can stick to it, then the Akhand Jyot of your discipline stays alive. 

Sorry, I derailed a bit. Coming back to the scene, I loved the way it was shot. Shashank stepping in and protecting the responsibility that was on his wife while his wife was peacefully asleep in one frame was sweetly significant. 

Relationships are not always 50-50. The numbers vary depending upon a lot of things but I would say, a relationship wins when your partner wordlessly steps in for you when you are struggling.  

Shashank could have slept but he stayed up, prioritizing his wife’s responsibility over his own comfort. He sat for the whole night, taking care of the Akhand Jyot so that she could sleep and wake up with the satisfaction of having lived up to the responsibility that she had taken.  

Shishta Apurva Vartak Kanitkar 

Mr. Kanitkar’s feet were supposed to drag him back to the room but being the rebel that they were, they took him to her instead. As he sat down with the intention of holding a mirror in front of her today to make her see the girl he liked, he tapped on her shoulder but she had dozed off. A couple of attempts to wake her up but all in vain. 

There is something strangely comforting about the way he holds her hand every time. You just want to believe him even though he has given you fifty reasons in the past to not trust him. 

I love how effortlessly she slips on his shoulder and he holds her to himself, letting her sleep while pouring his heart out. I just wish that he uses his voice and words when she is awake to listen to them. Enough of confessing to your own self.

She deserves to hear it from you that she is the one, Mr. Kanitkar. Come on, she really does deserve it. Can we please put an end to this ‘guess it if you can’ game? You know she is not good with riddles. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten what happened in DaDu’s counseling session. If you love her… just tell her. It’s really simple as that. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kanitkar

I genuinely expected Apurva to at least consider that Shashank could have been around but I guess her mind is too occupied by the responsibility thing to let her use her common sense. 

But I expected Shashank to not disappear either. It’s like the dude does everything he can to not let her see his love. 

He doesn‘t confess.

He keeps quiet when Netra says that they are going to get married after he divorces Apurva. 

When his hurt wife repeats those words, instead of eliminating the existence of that insecurity that he himself had planted months ago, he actually says that he will marry Netra. 

He stays with her for the whole night and disappears right before she wakes up. 

I personally feel that Apurva has valid reasons for not considering that she is the one, her husband is in love with. The reasons that her husband has given her time and again. 

Coming to the scene – I love the way they have gone beyond the need. The need for consciousness. Her head found its pillow – his shoulder – and his hand found its favorite one to pamper. Even with their closed eyes. 

Such a beautiful scene where both of them were as sleepy as they could have been, their eyes wouldn’t open no matter but neither of them could fall asleep either until they rolled, shifted, her head fell on his shoulder and his hand wrapped around her arm. 

Some Privacy, Please?

I disliked the Kukki’s Gang’s disturbance today. Walking into a married couple’s room – especially when they are sleeping – is erm not nice? It’s an unsaid rule to hold that basic acknowledgment and respect that you shouldn’t be barging into a married couple’s room. 

It’s no longer cute or funny though the scene that followed was light but I couldn’t enjoy it with not having liked their presence in their room at that moment. 

These people want them to come closer. Arey thoda time, space aur privacy to do uske liye! 

These gang members need to learn from their leader. The way Kukki was quietly watching Shashank and Apurva in awe when Shashank was confessing his love was so sweet. One could see that contentment and pride in his eyes that he was right – these two really are made for each other and hopelessly fallen for each other.

Mr. Kanitkar interrupting Mrs. Kanitkar when she was about to reveal about the so-called miracle to the Kukki Gang, knowing that they wouldn’t buy it and would rather know in seconds what must have happened was sweet. He didn’t wish for anyone to know that she had dozed off and he was the one to take care of the Akhand Jyot. 

The husband wants no credit whatsoever long as his wife gets all the praise.

The aarti moment was lovely as well. I loved Mai’s Diya-Relationship analogy but what I certainly didn’t expect was Apurva’s response to it. The dialogues are so thoughtfully written.

With the new promo, we already know that the divorce papers would be burned to ashes but the impact of Apurva signing the divorce papers is probably going to last.